Missing Codec Error?

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Level 1

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Missing Codec Error?

Hey final cut people! I got a big problem!

I have a project in Final Cut Pro 7.0, and every time I open a project (any project, or just the application itself via the dock), I get an error message saying "Codec not found. You may be using a compression type without a corresponding hardware card." Then, after clicking "OK", I am greeted to a half-open project: the Browser and Viewer are open to the project, but the timeline and canvas aren't open, and are greyed out in the "window" menu. Thus, final cut is inoperable. I can open a clip in the browser and play it in the viewer, but that's about it.

All my footage is shot with a Nikon D5100, 1080p .MOV's.

My computer is a Late 2008 iMac, with 4gb of RAM and 175gb of free space on both my harddrive and external harddrive. It's running Lion 10.7.1

My final cut is version 7.0 and I am not able to update it (long story, I don't wanna get into it).

Quicktime player is acting normal, I am able to open the files in finder and play them in Quicktime, so it seems that any missing codecs aren't affecting it. I looked at other answers on here and they didn't seem to help. I looked in the Quicktime folder in ~/Library to check my codecs, and there are so many, I'm not sure if anything's missing.

This problem is very sudden, I haven't touched my Library folder in months and the last time I opened final cut, a few weeks ago, all was well. I am in dire need of a fix pretty soon, thanks in advance for all your help!!!

Final Cut Pro 7, Mac OS X (10.7.1)

Posted on Dec 10, 2011 11:50 PM

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Answer 1

Studio X

Level 7

27,229 points

Dec 11, 2011 6:09 AM in response to jpories

There are at least two issuse at work here.

1.Upgrades

Did you upgrade to 10.7 as a clean install or do an overwrite installation? If an overwrite installation, you may have issues.

If you did a pro app migration to a new computer, you may have issues. Not all program elements get transfered.

2. Non native codecs

Did you convert whatever format the Nikon records to ProRes? If not, you should. FCP does not like h.264 native material and all sorts of funky things happen when you try to edit it directly.

In a best case scenario you would be have converted your material to ProRes and be working from a clean installation of 10.7 and FCP (no migration, no overwrite).

Short of that, you could try deleteing FCP using FCP manager (this gets all the plist files as well) and do a fresh installation.

x

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Answer 2

jpories Author

Level 1

0 points

Dec 11, 2011 11:36 AM in response to Studio X

Thanks, I uninstalled & reinstalled FCP, and now the Missing Codec Error is gone. However, in its place is an "Out of Memory" error. I have heard that the issue may be caused by the fact that the Nikon D5100 shoots H.264 video, but I've edited with other footage from it many many times before, and it has always worked for me.

I tried this solution, but my sequence settings look like this, with the compressor box blank, and when i click on it, nothing happens. What do I do? I have almost a hundred gb free on both my hard drives, and I have 4gigs of RAM, 2 of which are unused. I can't open a clip from the browser in the viewer, or open a sequence, or pretty much anything without this error. Can someone help me???

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Answer 3

Studio X

Level 7

27,229 points

Dec 12, 2011 5:36 AM in response to jpories

Convert the material to ProRes.

Drag your h.264 file into Compressor's Project window and drop it on the bar that says "drag settings and destinations here"

Go to the "settings" window.

Drill down to Apple>Formats>Quicktime>Apple ProRes 422 (LT)

Drag it over and drop it on the window where your you put your original file.

Set a destination.

Click submit.

This will transcode your h.264 to ProResLT. bring that file into FCP and life will be good. If you have dozens of these files, Compressor will easily handle batch processing.

While Compressor is cranking away on your file, open up the Compressor help file and read up. It is a very powerful utility.

good luck,

x

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